supposed to be
by MYZ-chan
Summary: -GinMatsumoto-  Gin is not supposed to be dead.  Then again, Gin is not supposed to be a lot of things.  -possible spoilers for ch. 415-


Gin is not supposed to be dead. That is what Matsumoto thinks when Kira helps her up after Orihime's treatment, brings her over limping to where Gin's body is surrounded. The circle parts for her, and she kneels down as best as she can in front of his prone corpse.

He looks so lost.

Gin is not supposed to be dead.

Then again, Gin isn't supposed to be a lot of things.

And Rangiku lets herself crumble.

* * *

Rangiku is not supposed to be grief-stricken. The cat is never such. It keeps on moving, never looking back unless necessary.

But as Gin's hand sword slashes down, Rangiku wants to scream. Wail into the heavens, because that little boy she loved so much is gone. He has danced away with the monsters, too far into the darkness for her, the cat, to chase after him anymore.

There is nothing left but the fox, the fox with its shit-eating grin and permanently slanted eyes.

Just waiting for you to fall.

* * *

Gin is not supposed to be honest. He is the fox, swishing his tail back and forth and simply smiling, smiling. Waiting for you to slip. For his chance to pounce. And he will say, do whatever it takes to make you vulnerable.

But when he puts his hand on her sword and smiles at her, smiles so openly and sadly that her heart cracks, cracks from the core, she can see that Gin is not just Gin. She can see past the fox and catch a faint glimpse of the little boy she knew and cared for. Waving. Unsmiling.

And she watches those two, the fox and the boy rise up, up into the heavens with the darkest god of them all.

* * *

Matsumoto is not supposed to be nostalgic. She likes to go out and have fun, be wild with her hair down. She is a cat, and the cat is sleek, beautiful, independent. The cat has no need for a fox.

But when she sees him, standing there in front of her with that shit grin on his face with his hands by his sides and that captain label on his back, she can't help but feel her heart break all over again.

"Hey, Rangiku," he says nonchalantly. "Long time no see."

A pause. A long, long pause that stretches itself out too far and too thin, threatening to snap.

"Yeah," she says hoarsely, turning away. "It has been."

And she has to hurry away to go and practice her sword techniques so that she won't screw up again. But really, she's trying hard not to cry.

So this is where he's been.

Bastard.

She avoids contact with him for as long as she can for the rest of the year and drowns away her anger in sake.

* * *

Gin is not supposed to be tender. He is far too wild, too cunning to be contained and caged by someone or even consider being truly kind to them. He is the fox that runs on its own, far, far into the woods. Too far to be caught by own.

So Rangiku really doesn't know why he looks that, smooth forehead now scrunched up just slightly, mouth pulled down slightly. She doesn't know why he looks like that while he watches her bandage her wounds.

Almost upset.

It's true that she would like a bit of loyalty from him. In truth, she likes to delude herself, tell herself that one day he will come to his senses and stay with her. That he'll stop vanishing like the way he does. But Rangiku is not as dumb as some think, and she knows that this is nothing more than a silly illusion.

"That guy," Gin says abruptly, making Rangiku look up in surprise. This is the first he's talked since they've come home.

"What guy?" she asks, wrapping a bandage around her ankle. Her hands stumble and stutter, still shaky and painful from being kicked; she winces.

And then Gin reaches over, reaches over and begins to wrap it for her. Silently, broodingly. This is completely unlike Gin, calm and collected and able to conceal all his feelings from Rangiku herself, only showing calculated cheerfulness.

She's starting to feel a bit scared.

"Gin?" she asks carefully. "Gin, what guy?"

And for a moment, the briefest of moments she no longer sees a boy but a fox. An angry, cold fox with its grin wiped from its face. "That guy's the one I have to—"

He stops. Smoothes his face out. Finishes wrapping the bandages and proceeds to sit back, watching Matsumoto treat the rest by herself.

He never finishes his sentence.

* * *

...because who can resist writing after reading the most recent chapter? :D First time writing either of these characters, so I hope I did well.

I hope you enjoyed, and I do hope that they both survive. Seriously. :(


End file.
